Would love thoughts when I must have something

[The Detroit Collector]

If it's a reputable auction house, you shouldn't worry.

[NiceDocter]

If it’s a local auction, you may be able to secure representation from a dealer or collector that you trust for a small fee….. and they could attend and bid for you live.

[raulus]

You could always ask a friend to help?

If it’s an online thing, maybe give them your credentials and ask them to bid for you?

Obviously you would really need to trust them. And probably a good idea to change your credentials once the auction is over.

But maybe if it was a parent or sibling, it might not seem so scary?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by raulus

You could always ask a friend to help?

If it’s an online thing, maybe give them your credentials and ask them to bid for you?

Obviously you would really need to trust them. And probably a good idea to change your credentials once the auction is over.

But maybe if it was a parent or sibling, it might not seem so scary?

^^^ This for sure.

Maybe not applicable in this instance, but I also wonder about the psychology of auto bids that are generated by max bids. For instance, if a guy bids against you and your auto bid immediately tops his, does it annoy him enough to prompt another bid right away? Hs's sitting right there online, logged into the auction and looking at the item. Might it be better to wait a few minutes and then outbid him? At minimum, it would make his ability to again outbid you more cumbersome.

[oldjudge]

From your description it sounds like your item is in a live auction. If you can make yourself available at the approximate time your lot will come up for bidding perhaps you can arrange phone bidding with the auction house. I have very successfully done this in the past with several auction houses. If phone bidding is not an option I would try to arrange a representative to attend the auction on your behalf.
I would not leave an up to bid, but not because I'd be afraid the auction house would run me up. After all, what's your downside--maybe a thousand or so? Is that the end of the world for an item you have to have? No, I wouldn't leave an up to bid because if you can't live without this item perhaps someone else can't either and your up to, high as you think it may be, may still be insufficient. I still kick myself for an item I lost in the Halper Auction when I left an up to bid at 3x what I thought the lot would go for.

[boysblue]

I would definitely not place a high max bid. I did that recently on multiple items at a local auction and got run up to my max on every single item! Very annoying (though my bids were nowhere near the amount you are proposing). I like the idea of having a trusted family member/friend do the bidding for you. I suspect it will save you alot of money. Good luck with the auction